Mother Gets 18 Months For Role In Holdup Of Area Sandwich Shop

A 33-year-old mother of two young children was sentenced to 18 months in prison Friday for participating in the holdup of a West Hartford Subway sandwich shop.

Hartford Superior Court Judge Carmen E. Espinosa said she had considered giving Carmen Hernandez a lighter term until she read a pre-sentence report in which Hernandez appeared to be covering up her role and her boyfriend's role in the crime. The judge said she was also upset when she read about Hernandez's admitted drug use.

Hernandez, who has already served six months in prison awaiting resolution of her case, asked for a suspended term so she could go home and care for her two children.

``I know what I committed was a sin,'' she told the judge. ``This mistake I have made I have paid for it dearly. I am sure that they [her children] are paying for it more than I am.''

Hernandez pleaded guilty May 13 to conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery in connection with the Feb. 1 holdup of the Subway shop at 1144 New Britain Ave. Police were watching the restaurant as it was being robbed.

They said they saw a man slip on a purple ski mask before entering the restaurant. He first approached the shop clerk, who was on the telephone. He demanded that she open the cash drawer. When she complied, he grabbed $115 and also took a gold chain from her neck, police said.

The waiting police soon arrested the gunman, Nestor Hernandez Cruz, 26, of 1 Frederick St., Hartford, and his getaway driver, Richard Rodriguez, 31, of 50 Huntington St., Hartford, along with Hernandez, of 140 Russ St., Hartford, who was a passenger in the getaway car. She told authorities Hernandez Cruz was her boyfriend.

Rodriguez has already received a five-year prison term for his part in the robbery, while Hernandez Cruz is scheduled for sentencing next Friday.